BRITISH officials shrugged off criticism of David Davis' flying visit to Brussels which included talks with his EU counterpart Michel Barnier that lasted less than two hours.

The Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) said the Brexit secretary's fleeting trip to the Belgian capital was perfectly normal in international negotiations and added he was in constant contact with his negotiating team.

Mr Davis raised eyebrows when he left Brussels mid-morning yesterday, just two hours after he and Mr Barnier posed for a few staged photo opportunities at the headquarters of the EU Commission.

The Brexit secretary - who travelled to Brussels on Sunday evening - arrived at the sprawling Berlaymont building at around 9.15am and immediately held a joint press conference with Mr Barnier, at which the pair read pre-prepared statements.

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They then left the podiums without answering any questions from the gathered media, with the Frenchman saying the pair needed to work to which the Brexit secretary replied: “Work, yes that’s right - work.”

The pair were later snapped with their advisers inside Mr Barnier’s office, in a photo which raised eyebrows due to the lack of notes brought into the meeting by British officials.

Whilst the EU negotiators were seen sitting behind piles of stacked up documents the UK side of the table was completely bare save for a single small black notebook.

EU Commission

The British side were pictured with no notes at the meeting

Commentators observed that the candid photo could demonstrate the level of preparedness of the two sides, but it now appears that very little if any actual negotiation between the two men took place yesterday.

Mr Davis left the Berlaymont building to return to Britain around two hours after arriving, although UK officials stressed that he had been working in Brussels since Sunday evening and would be in constant contact with negotiators before returning once more on Thursday.

They added that a sizeable British negotiating team of 90 officials will remain in the Belgian capital throughout the week doing the heavy lifting of the talks, helping iron out technical details of the divorce.

It is understood that, after arriving in the Belgian capital last night, Mr Davis held meetings with high-ranking British officials including Sir Tim Barrow, although he only met with Mr Barnier yesterday.

In a statement DExEU said yesterday: "The Secretary of State travelled to Brussels yesterday to kick-start the second round of negotiations to leave the European Union.

"As with any other international negotiation, those talks have now moved to technical working level discussions where over 90 UK officials will meet with their counterparts in the Commission enabling multiple conversations to take place at once.

“David Davis and Michel Barnier will be updated throughout the talks, before returning to negotiating table later this week. This approach is entirely consistent with all international negotiations, including the G7 and G20."

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David Davis paid a fleeting visit to Brussels

Asked what he thought of such a "fleeting" visit, the EU Commission's chief spokesman Margaritis Schinas replied: "I saw David Davis coming into the building I haven’t followed his exact location in the building or around the building so I will not offer an occasion on something that I’m not aware of."

Yesterday's visit to Brussels by the Brexit secretary was deliberately more lowkey than the opening day of talks last month, when the pair exchanged gifts and held a lengthy press conference with the world's media.

There were no presents on display and media access was tightly managed, with both men unwilling to give away much about what specific issues they would be focussing on and how the talks are going.

British officials insisted that the brevity of the meeting between Mr Davis and Mr Barnier did not indicate that it had gone badly and that there was no “walk out or drama” from the British side.

Instead, they said it had always been the plan that the Brexit secretary would arrive in Brussels to urge officials to get on with the technical heavy lifting of the negotiations and then leave shortly after.

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David Davis and Michel Barnier give a press conference at the end of a meeting at EU Commission in Brussels

Appearing in front of journalists together yesterday the two men did, however, strike different tones about the upcoming talks with Mr Davis noticeably trying to inject some positive energy into proceedings.

Mr Barnier delivered a largely technocratic address, describing the process of the talks and saying: “We need to examine and compare our respective positions in order to make good progress.”

But the Brexit secretary, in contrast, struck a more idealistic and upbeat tone, saying it was “good to be back in Brussels” and talking up the “similarities” between the two sides.

He told reporters: “We made a good start last month but we’re now getting into the substance of the matter. It’s time to get down to work and make this a successful negotiation.”